Few clues to feds' housing strategy after Horgan meets Trudeau, then developers in Vancouver

British Columbia Premier John Horgan listens to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before they addressed the crowd at the Women Deliver kickoff event in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, November 16, 2017. DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS

There is a growing feeling high housing costs in and around Vancouver and Toronto may have national implications, and need attention beyond what local and provincial governments can do.

Ahead of an expected national housing strategy from Ottawa, a private meeting in Vancouver between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan on Thursday may have offered some hints at what the feds are willing to commit.

It could be dollars for projects or support to stem speculation that is both a symptom and cause of out-of-control price gains, especially in Metro Vancouver’s pre-sale condo market.

The province, however, was not forthcoming with specific details as Premier Horgan and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Selina Robinson later addressed a sold-out luncheon hosted by the Urban Development Institute, which represents developers.

“The Prime Minister is committing to the housing sector for the first time in a long time,” Horgan said, adding he asked Trudeau “for cash” to support issues in B.C., but also cited a range of areas from child care to forest fires.

There were more questions than answers as to how Ottawa might get involved with addressing the housing crisis in Metro Vancouver, but scrutiny is likely to persist.

On Wednesday, a report released by Ottawa-based research foundation Macdonald-Laurier Institute about a federal strategy for affordable housing suggested a shift in thinking about the country’s hot housing markets.

“While the affordability challenges are localized — that is, it is principally a problem in Toronto and Vancouver and their surrounding areas — they can have national implications. These are our two most dynamic, job-creating cities and home to more than half of all home sales and a disproportionate share of jobs. If low- and middle-income Canadians cannot afford to relocate or live in these cities, the opportunity costs in the form of less economic activity and fewer jobs are national in scope.”

“This does not change the fact that many of the solutions must come from provincial and local governments. But it does affirm that housing affordability in two major centres is rightly seen as a national problem,” wrote report authors Sean Speer and Jane Londerville.

The UDI luncheon had been highly anticipated for the possibility it might yield some announcements on how the province might itself make investments or introduce restrictions to curb speculative activity.

As it unfolded, however, Horgan described it as a chance for the industry to “kick the tires” and see his government as being willing to work together with municipalities and developers.

Along with over 500 real estate executives, municipal officials from Coquitlam, North Vancouver and Vancouver were also there.

UDI CEO Anne McMullin asked how the province might reach its targets of adding both market and non-market housing units as part of its affordability strategy if it can take years for development projects to get approved by some municipalities.

Horgan said the “province needs to help” developers and cities “streamline approval processes for projects,” but he added “we won’t be heavy-handed with municipalities.”

The development industry has been more vocal recently about its frustration in dealing with municipalities, pointing out bureaucratic tangles that slow down their timelines even as politicians talk about the need to increase housing units.

Critics who say affordability issues will not be solved by adding supply were also left seeking more details as to what Horgan and Trudeau have planned in terms of tackling intense demand for housing, in particular from overseas markets.

Horgan told the luncheon: “If we allow housing to be a commodity market, there will be problems with selling your product.”

However, he also said that because the foreign buyers tax in Metro Vancouver has pushed speculation into other markets in B.C., there is a need for a “comprehensive response. We don’t want to solve one problem and have something else come up.”

He later pointed to a timeline of next February, when the next budget will be released, for seeing specific measures.

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